The exact definition of a cracker as provided by the jargon file is "One who breaks security on a system." However it also notes that a hacker is, among other things, "A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities."

It's easy to see how the two definitions can overlap. If I break the security of a system which I am authorized to perform a security audit on, which am I? This isn't a very important difference, the main distinction is more or less based on legality (although there are several exceptions).

This may all sound very trivial, it's just a word right? Consider if in a year the major media outlets started using the term "programmer" to refer to computer criminals. Why change the meaning of a word because some reporters don't know what they're talking about?

Ada Lovelace for the palindrome
Albert Einstein for having smelly feet
Alfred Nobel for his contribution to battlefield science
Burkhard Heim for providing the missing link between science and mysticism
Claude Shannnon for riding a unicycle at night at MIT
Donald Knuth for being such a great organist
Edward Teller for being the template for Dr. Strangelove
Edwin Hubble for pretending to be a pipe-smoking English gentleman
Erwin Schrödinger for cruelty to cats
Hedy Lamarr for weaponizing pianos
Hugh Everett for immortality, especially for cats
Isaac Newton for his occult studies
Kikunae Ikeda for discovering the secrets of soy sauce
Larry Wall for his website
Louis Camille Maillard for discovering why steaks taste good
Marie Curie for the shiny stuff
Nikola Tesla for the cool cars
Paul Dirac for speaking one word per hour when socializing
Richard Feynman for his bongo skills
Robert Oppenheimer for his in-depth knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita
Rusi P Taleyarkhan for Cold Fusion
Sigmund Freud for his Ménage ā trois
Theodor W Adorno for his contribution to the reception of jazz
Wilhelm Röntgen for the foundations of body scanners
Yulii Borisovich Khariton for the Tsar Bomba
Other (please explain why)